Demountable drier for hay and the like having a perforate floor and air circulating means



April 1948- F. w. MOFFETT, JR 2,439,853

DEMOUNTABLE DRIER FOR HAY AND THE LIKE HAVING A PERFORAT'E FLOOR AND AIRCIRCULATING MEANS I Filed 0012. 19, 1945 7 Sheets-Sheet} IN V EN TOR.

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Aprll 20, 1948. w, MQFFETT, JR 2,439,853 DEMOUNTABLE DRIER FOR HAY ANDTHE LIKE HAVING A v 'PERFORATE FLOOR AND AIR CIRCULATING MEANS FiledOct. 19, 1945 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Aprll 20, 1948. R w MQFFETT, JR 2,439,853

DEMOUNTABLE DRIER FOR HAY AND THE LIKE HAVING A PERFORATE FLOOR AND AIRCIRCULATING MEANS Filed Oct. 19, 1945 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. W

Aprll 20, 1948. w, MQFFETT, JR 2,439,853

DEMOUNTABLE DRIER FOR HAY AND THE LIKE HAVING A PERFORATE FLOOR AND AIRcIRcULATING MEANS '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 20, 1948. w MOFFETT, JR2,439,853

DEMOUNTABLE DRIER FOR HAY AND THE LIKE HAVING A PERFORATE FLOOR AND AIRCIRCULATING MEANS Filed Oct. 19, 1945 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 LA 1g.

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DEMQUNTABLE DRIER FOR HAY AND THE LIKE HAVING A PERFORATE FLOOR AND AIRCIRCULATING MEANS Filed Oct. 19, 1945 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 W02! {MQMN April20, 1948. F w. p DEMOUNTABLE DRIER FOR HAY AND THE LIKE HAVING APERFORA'IE FLOOR AND AIR CIRCULATING MEANS Filed Oct. 19, 1945 7Sheets-Sheet 7 a 1 I I P- #L 5 l 1 Q I l I I I A L 1 L T I 1 T n I i I Iu #i INVENTOR. 4

Patented Apr. 20, 1948 DEMOUNTABLE DRIER FOR HAY AND LIKE HAVING APERFORATE FLOOR AND AIR CIRCULATING MEANS Frank Wesley Moffett, Jr.,Gates, N. Y.

Application October 19, 1945, Serial No. 623,298

Claims.

. This invention relates to a rack for drying hay and other wetmaterials, and has for its purpose to afiord a structure that enablesdrying large masses of freshly cut wet hay quickly, economically, andeffectively.

More particularly, the invention has for its object to provide apractical and efiicient construction by whichwet hay or other materialscan be d 2 of the rack and acting to maintain the fabric chamber andthebottom wall in place.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction andarrangement of parts thoroughly and uniformly dried through the in'.,

troduction of hot air upwardly from a point underneath the material tobe dried.

Another purpose of the invention is to enable using artificially heatedair to dry hay or other materials in such a way that maximum efficiencyis derived from the heated air while the hay is dried in the quickesttime,, and with great uniformity.

A further object of the invention is to afiord a structure of suchdesign that a large volume of wet hay or other materials can be dried bythe movement of hot air upwardly through the material from a pointunderneath, hot air being distributed evenly throughout the zoneimmediately under the material being dried and moving upwardly in suchmanner as to dry the material in different sections of a horizontal zoneat substantially the same speed, so that every portion of eachsucceeding layer of material is brought to a completely dried state atapproximately the same time.

Another purpose of the invention'is to afford a portable knock-downconstruction which can be quickly assembled into operative relationshipor taken apart and which makes it possible for the rack to be set up atany convenient point and used, in conjunction with a portable or otherhot air apparatus, to receive and dry a' crop of freshly cut wet hay orother material, after which the .hay is removed andthe rack can bequickly taken down and easily transported to another location whereverrequired.

Still an additional object of the invention is to ailord a bottom wallcomposed of removable flexible sections permitting passage of airtherethrough, and under and around the bottom wall a substantiallyair-tight fabric open-top chamber through which hot air is'introduced,and which .ice.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple *and efiicientremovable and portable means for supporting the fabric chamber and thebottom wall of the rack, together with convenient that will-appearclearly from the following description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, the novel features bein pointed out in the claimsfollowing the specification. a

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in end elevation of a knockdown hay rack constructed inaccordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention, and showing aportable hot air apparatus arranged to furnish heated air to the opentop fabric chamber under the bottom wall of the rack;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken centrally of Fig.l;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken above the bottom wall of therack and illustrating in elevation the bottom wall and the associatedparts therebeneath;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken in a plane atright angles to Fig. 2

through the bottom wall of the rack and illustrating the partsassociated therebeneath;

Fig. '5 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view in a plane similarto Fig. 2, and showing a portion of the side wall in elevation;

Fig. 6 is a view in elevation of one of the removable flexible sectionscomposing the bottom wall of the rack;

Fig. 7 is a view in end elevation showing the removable flexible floorsection of Fig. 6 partially rolled;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail sectional view in a plane similar to Fig.2, showing a portion of the side wall in elevation;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the canvas opentop chamber beneath thebottom wall;

Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view of one of the retaining members orrails which hold the canvas chamber in position and support the sidewalls of the rack;

Fig. 11 is ayiew in side elevation of one of the sidewall sections, and

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the same.

The structure comprises in general a rack consisting of knockdown sidewalls and removable bottom wall sections supported within an opentopchamber which extends beneath and around the bottom wall, the latterhaving openings. that permit movement of hot air upwardly through v thewet'material supported on the bottom wall, knock-down structurecomposing the side walls while the chamber is in communication with awalls by means of an adjustable blower pipe l3,

source of hot air such as a portable air heater, which forces hot airinto the chamber, and is supported on a removable floor consisting ofseparable panels resting on removable stringers which in turn aremounted on portable foundation blocks, and the structure shown embodiesone practical embodiment illustrative of the invention, which,. however,can be carried out in a variety of ways.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like referencenumerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, the rackincludes side walls composed of removable units, each of said removableside wall units comprising spaced vertical slats l suitably connected bywires 2 to end posts 3, thus permitting each side wall unit to beremoved and rolled up when the structure is knocked down to betransported. The end posts 3 are provided with suitable eyes or bracketsl by which they are removably connected to the hooks i on supportingposts 8, located at the corners and at spaced intervals along the sidesof the rack to afford means for holding the removable side wall units inposition.

The and posts 3 of the side wall units and the supporting posts 6 areremovably supported on rails 'I which extend around the edges of thebottom wall to be described presently, and are provided with upstandingflanges 8 that retain the posts and side wall units in position. Eachsupporting post 6 is retained in vertical position by means of feet 9positionable on the rails l and connected by links ID to the verticalbars ll attached to the sides of the post 8, and when taken apart, thefeet I can be collapsed or folded downwardly into alinement with thepost to permit ready handling. The corner posts i are secured by meansof anchor rods i2 removably connected to the corner posts I and suitablyanchored in the ground, see Fig. 1.

In this manner, the removable side walls are formed by separable unitsand removable corner\ posts, and when in place aflord acompleteenclosing wall within which the wet hay or other material isplaced on a bottom wall for drying.

In actual operation, after the side walls of the rack are operativelypositioned, wet hay in a chopped state can be delivered from suitablefeeding apparatus into the space-within the side or by hand, or in anyother convenient fashion.

The supporting rails I are removably located at the edges of the bottomwall and serve, in addition to supporting the posts and side wall unitsas already described. to hold in place the upper edges of-the sides of aremovable chamber of canvas or other fabric located under the bottomwall of the rack, as will be described presently.

The bottom wall just referred to consists of a series of separateremovable flexible sections such as shown in Figs. 6 and '7, and eachconsisting of a multiplicity of spaced parallel slats ll connected by aseries of tapes i6 extending crosswise of the slats and suitablyattached thereto so as to maintain the slats in spaced relation and topermit rolling the section when removed.

The bottom wall of the rack is formed by a .multiplicity of theseflexible removable sections arranged in adjacent relationship, and thespaces between the slats I 4 permit the hot air to move upwardly throughthe wet hay or other material being dried. The removable floor sectionsare supported on spaced removable partition members i5 which extendbeneath the slats ll crosswise thereof, as illustrated inFig. 4, and aremounted in removable metallic brackets I having vertical walls l1affording a space therebctween to receive a partition member ii.

The partition members 15 are arranged in spaced parallelism below-thebottom wall of the rack and thus afford a series of passages ll throughwhich the hot air travels beneath the bottom wall, and which cause thehot air to traverse the bottom wall from one side to the other and thusbe evenly distributed under the mass of wet material before passingupwardly so that all areas of the wet hay in any given horizontal planeare dried uniformly.

It is "important to provide an air-tight chamber under the bottom wallto conduct hot air thereto and one that will permit ready assemblyortransporting of the parts, and this is preferably accomplished by afabric chamber located under and around the bottom wall andcommunicating with the hot air supply, as will now be described.

The partition members Iisupport the removable flexible sectionscomposing the bottom wall already described and are located between thebottom wall and a canvas bottom ls of a chamber, preferably formed ofcanvas or other acceptable fabric, and extending beneath the partitionmembers Ill. The canvas chamber includes the bottom i9 and sides 20, theupper edges 2| of which extend beneath the rails I already de scribed.The rails I rest on the top edges of the canvas sides 20, holding thelatter against the outer edges of the bottom wall of the rack and thusaifording an open-top chamber completely edges of the bottom wall of therack on three sides of the latter which increases uniform distributionof hot air, and in order to furnish a continuous supply of hot air tothe rack, the canvas chamber is provided on one side with an extendedportion 22 affording a hot air inlet and terminating in a circular mouth23 that is adapted to be removably attached to a discharge pipe 24forming the outlet of a portable hot air apparatus of any convenientform.

When the latter is in operation, hot air is forced in through air inlet22 of the canvas chamber and thence through the conduits I! under thebottom wall of the rack, between and around the various partitionmembers It, and thence upwardly through the openings between the slatsof the bottom wall sections, it being understood that the hot air is ata controlled temperature suflicient to cause it to dry the mass of wetmaterial speedily and effectively.

The bottom IQ of the canvas chamber rests on a floor consisting ofremovable panels 25 which may be of plywood or other suitableconstruction to permit easy removability, and toaflord a levelsupporting base for the bottom of the canvas chamber. The removablepanels 25 rest on stringers 26 constructed preferably of wood or othersuitable material, the latter in turn being supported on cement orcinder blocks 21 which in turn rest removably on the ground.

It is desirable to provide the rack with a top covering or roof, andthis is preferably in the form of canvas 28 supported on the centerposts 29, which in turn rest on foot plates 30 supported on the bottomwall of the rack, while 3! designates side posts supported on theground, with proper position on the bottom 19 of the canvas chamber. Thepartition members l5 are then positioned between the vertical walls llof the brackets l6, after which the removable flexible bottom wallsections are unrolled and placed over the top edges of the partitionmembers l5, as shown in Fig. 3. The bottom wall is then ready to receivethe top edges 2| of the sides 20 of the canvas chamber; which arepositioned over the sideedges of the bottom wall, as shown in Fig. 4,and held in place by the rails I that are arranged along the edges ofthe bottom wall and serve by their weight and the weight of the sidewalls resting thereon, to hold the upper edges of the sides of thecanvas chamber securely in place, thus affording an open-top chamberwith completely closed sides beneath the bottom wall of the rack. Therails I are then ready to receive the corner and intervening posts 6, towhich the removable side wall units are fastened by means of the eyes 4engaging suitable hooks on the posts, the corner posts being anchored tothe ground in the manner already described. After the parts arepositioned as described and the roof covering 28 secured in place, therack is ready to receive a charge of hay through the adjustable blowerpipe I3, and the hay is dried by forcing a supply of hot air into thecanvas chamber and thence between the partition members and upwardlythrough the hay supported on the rack.

With this structure, the material at the bottom of the pile isdriedfirst. and the hot air is distributed uniformly upwardly through allportions of the mass of wet material, so that by the time the hot airreaches the top, the heat will have been almost completely transferredto the wet material and the moisture thereby carried off quickly. Thedrying operation is completed in a minimum space of time and hay can beeffectively cured in a manner that utilizes the hot air efiiciently, thehot air when it reaches the wettest portions being at its lowesttemperature and thus permitting the curing to take place gradually, andas the operation continues, the hottest air always strikes the driestportions of the hay first, while the wetter portions of hay arecontacted by the air in a somewhat cooler'state.

The complete structure is of a knock-down character, and when the dryingoperation is completed and the hay removed, it can readily be takenapart in separable units that can be conveniently handled andtransported for use at any selected location, in conjunction with aportable hot air apparatus or other convenient source of heated air.

While the invention has been described with reference to the particularconstruction shown, it is not confined to the details or exactarrangements herein disclosed, and this application is intended to coversuch modifications or depar- 6 tures as may come within the purpose ofthe improvements or the scope of the following claims.

I claim: 1

1. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls, a bottom .wall having openings therein, a canvas memberfolded to form a chamber beneath the bottom-wall and having side wallswith a portion of the side walls resting on the bottom wall, meansresting on the bottom of said canvas chamber and supporting said bottomwall, an air inlet communicating with said chamber, and means forforcing hot air into said air inlet.

2. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls, a bottom wall having openings therein, a canvas memberfolded to form a chamber beneath said bottom wall and having side walls,the top edges of which extend over and are retained on the side edges ofsaid bottom wall, means resting on the bottom of said canvas chamber andsupporting said bottom wall, an air inlet communicating with saidchamber, and means for forcing hot air into said air inlet.

3. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls, a bottom wall having openings therein, a canvas memberfolded to form a chamber beneath said bottom wall'and having side walls,the top, edges of which extend over the side edges of said bottom wall,means resting on the bottom of said canvas chamber and supporting saidbottom wall, removable retaining means holding said top edges againstthe side edges of the bottom wall, an air inlet communicating with saidchamber, and means for forcing hot air into said air inlet. I

4. A portable knock-down rack fordrying hay and the like comprising sidewalls, a bottom wall having openings therein, a canvas member folded toform a chamber beneath'said bottom wall and having side walls with aportion of the side walls resting on the bottom wall, partition memberssupported on the bottom of said canvas chamber in spaced parallelrelation within said chamber affording conduits, an air inletcommunicating with said chamber, and means for forcing hot air into saidair inlet.

5. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls, a bottom wall having openings therein, partition membersarranged in spaced parallel relation beneath the bottom wall affordingconduits between the partition members, a canvas member folded to form achamber beneath said bottom wall having side walls with a portion of theside walls resting on the bottom wall and spaced laterally from thepartition members affording a passage beneath the bottom wall and aroundthe partition members, the partition members resting on the bottom ofsaid canvas chamber, an air inletcommunieating with said chamber, andmeans for forcing hot air into said air inlet.

6. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls, a bottom wall having openings therein, partition membersarranged'in spaced parallel relation beneath the bottom wall affordingconduits between the partition members, a canvas member folded to form achamber beneath said bottom wall having side walls with a portion of theside walls resting on the bottom wall and spaced laterally from thepartition members affording a passage beneath said bottom wall andaround the partition members, said partition members resting on thebottom of said canvas chamber, and means for forcing hot air into saidcanvas chamber.

ranged in spaced parallel relation beneath the bottom wall affordingconduits between the partition members, a canvas member folded to form achamber beneath said bottom wall having side walls with a portion of theside walls resting on the bottom wall and spaced laterally from thepartition members affording a passage beneath said bottom wall andaround the partition members, the top edges of the canvas sides beingheld against the top of the bottom wall at the edges of the latter, anair inlet communicating with said chamber, the partition members restingon the bottom of said canvas chamber, and means for forcing hot air intosaid air inlet.

8. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls, a bottom wall consisting of separate removable sections eachhaving openings therein, supporting partition members removablypositioned beneath the bottom wall in spaced parallel relation, anopentopped chamber removably located beneath and surrounding saidsupporting partition members and consisting of a canvas bottom undersaid supporting members and canvas sides having their top edgesremovably held against the side edges of the bottom wall, the partitionmembers resting on the bottom of said canvas chamber, an air inletcommunicating with said chamber, and means for forcing hot air into saidair inlet.

9. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls formed of removable units, a bottom wall consisting ofseparate removable sections having openings therein, supportingpartition members removably arranged beneath said bottom wall in spacedparailel relation affording conduits extending under the bottom walLanopen-topped removable chamber located beneath and surrounding saidsupporting partition members and consisting of a canvas bottom andcanvas sides surrounding said partition members in spaced relationthereto and having their top edges held against the side edges of thebottom wall, the partition members resting on the bottom of said canvaschamber, an air inlet communicating with said chamber, and means forforcing hot air into said air inlet.

10. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls and removable flexible bottom wall sections having openingstherein, partition supporting members removably positioned beneath saidbottom wall, an open-topped chamber removably located beneath andsurrounding said supporting partition members and consisting of a canvasbottom and canvas. sides having their top edges removably held againstthe side edges of said bottom wall, the partition members resting on thebottom of said canvas chamber, a floor removably arranged under saidcanvas bottom of the chamber, supporting stringers under said floor, anair inlet communicating with said chamber, and means for forcing hot airinto said air inlet.

11. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls formed of removable units, a bottom wall consisting ofseparate removable flexible sections having openings therein, supportingpartition members removably positioned beneath said bottom wallsections, an open-topped chamber removably located beneath andsurrounding said supporting partition members and consisting of a canvasbottom under said supporting members and canvas sides having their topedges removably held against the side edges of said bottom wall, thepartition members resting on the bottom of said canvas chamber, a floorremovably arranged under said canvas bottom of the chamber, supportingstringers under said floor, an air inlet communicating with saidchamber, and means for forcing hot air into said air inlet.

12. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls formed of removable units, a bottom wall consisting ofseparate removable flexible sections having openings therein, supportingpartition members removably arranged beneath said bottom wall in spacedparallel relation affording conduits extending under the bottom wall, anopen-topped removable chamber located beneath and surrounding saidsupporting members and consisting of a canvas bottom and canvas sideshaving edges extending over the side edges of the bottom wall, thepartition members resting on the bottom of said canvas chamber,fastening means engaging the edges of said canvas sides and retainingthem against the side edges of the bottom wall, an air inletcommunicating with said chamber, and means for forcing hot air into saidair inlet.

13. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingside walls formed of removable units, a bottom wall consisting ofseparate removable flexible sections embodying spaced slats adapted tobe rolled when removed. supporting partition members removably arrangedbeneath said bottom wall in spaced parallel relation affording conduitsextending under the bottom well, an open-topped removable canvas chamberlocated beneath and surrounding said supporting members and consistingof a bottom under the supporting members and sides having their topedges overlying the side edges of the bottom wall and removably securedthereto, the partition members resting on the bottom of said canvaschamber, an air inlet communicating with said chamber, and means forforcing hot air into said air inlet.

14. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingremovable supporting piers, spaced stringers arranged on the piers,floor panels removably supported on the stringers, an open-topped canvaschamber including a bottom supported on said floor panels, supportingpartitions mounted on said canvas bottom,

removable bottom wall sections mounted on said partitions and havingopenings therein, the canvas chamber including sides extending upwardlyfrom the bottom and side edges overlying the outer edges of theremovable bottom wall sections, means engaging said side edges of thecanvas sides and retaining them on the removable bottom wall sections,posts mounted on said retaining means, means for forcing hot air intosaid canvas chamber, and side wall units removably attached to saidposts.

15. A portable knock-down rack for drying hay and the like comprisingremovable supporting piers. spaced stringers arranged on the piers, doorpanels removably supported on the stringers, an open-topped canvaschamber including a bottom supported on said floor panels, supportingpartitions mounted on said canvas bottom, removable bottom wall sectionsmounted on said supporting partitions and each consisting of spacedstrips connected by flexible means permitber including sides extendingupwardly from said bottom in spaced relation to said supportingpartitions and side edges overlying the outer edges of the removablebottom wall sections, means for forcing hot air into said canvaschamber, retaining means engaging-said side edges of said canvas sidesand acting to hold them engaged with the bottom wall sections, postssupported on said retaining means, and side wall units removablyattached to said posts.

FRANK WESLEY MOFFETT, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'IIN'IS Number Name Date 450,505 Cook Apr. 14, 1891 7481,954

Jewel u Sept. 6, 1892 Number Number France Mar. 25, 1930

